ZIP 79853 vs ZIP 79838

This side-by-side compares ZIP 79853 (Tornillo, TX) and ZIP 79838 (Fabens, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 79853 has a population of 3,729 at 46 people per square mile, while ZIP 79838 has 8,699 at 114 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 79853 reports a median household income of $42,234 against $43,367 in ZIP 79838, with per-capita income of $21,755 vs $21,080. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.7% in 79853 and 12.0% in 79838. Poverty rate reads 33.1% vs 27.4%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 3.6% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $83,200 in 79853 versus $95,800 in 79838, with median rent of — and $606 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 72.6%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.